As this type of an LED lighting device, there is known a device which, for example, detects current flowing in a light emitting diode (LED) and controls the detected current so that the current becomes a desired value or a predetermined value to obtain a desired light output or a predetermined light output from the light emitting diode. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-210836, there is proposed an LED driving device having a control means for carrying out constant power control by controlling a power source means for supplying a drive voltage and a drive current to an LED so that power consumption which is a product of the drive voltage detected by a voltage detection means and a drive current detected by a current detection means becomes constant.
The LED driving device according to the above-described Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-210836 can control power consumption of the LED to be constant by feedback control of the voltage detection means, the current detection means, and the control means. However, there are disadvantages that the number of components is increased due to provision of the voltage detection means, the current detection means, and the control means and due to these means, cost of the device is also increased.
Moreover, from a viewpoint of resource saving, an LED lighting device which has an LED with constant light output and does not require variability of light output has been demanded.
The object of the present invention is to provide an LED lighting device which can carry out constant current control of a light emitting diode without especially carrying out detection or control of the light emitting diode and a lighting equipment including this LED lighting device.